Fed’s Preferred Inflation Gauge Runs Hot; Outlook for Bitcoin Futures on CME

The January PCE Price Index – the Fed's favored inflation indicator – unexpectedly rose to 5.4%. Separately, three-month bitcoin futures listed on the CME, which is widely considered a proxy for institutional activity, are trading at an annualized premium of around 8.7% to the underlying reference index. The equivalent premium on offshore exchanges, mainly Binance, has jumped to 6.3%, the highest since January 2022.